1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pedal pad and more specifically to an improvement in structure of a pedal pad such as an accelerator pedal pad for an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For instance, in the case of an accelerator pedal for an automotive vehicle, a resin pedal pad is fixed to an end of a pedal arm extending downward to near the vehicle body floor. When the accelerator pedal pad is depressed by the foot of a driver, the pedal arm is pivoted to control acceleration operation of the vehicle.
FIG. 1 shows an example of prior-art accelerator pedal pads. In the drawing, the pedal pad 1 is formed with a pair of arm rod supporting portions 3 and a pair of arm end holding portions 5 on the reverse side of a pedal base plate 1A. On the other hand, a pedal arm 2 is bent into an L-shape at a bent portion 2a. To fix the pedal pad 1 to the pedal arm 2, a bent end of the arm 2 is passed through holes formed in the arm end holding portions 5 and a straight portion of the pedal arm 2 is sandwiched between the arm rod supporting portions 3. Further, a pin 4 is passed through holes formed in both the arm rod supporting portions 3 and the pedal arm 2 so as to extend perpendicular to the axial direction of the pedal arm 2. Further, the pedal pad 1 is manufactured by molding synthetic resin, and a plurality of grooves are formed on the surface of the pedal pad 1 for prevention of foot slip.
In the above-mentioned prior-art pedal pad 1, since the pedal arm 2 is fixed to the pedal base plate 1A by use of a pin 4, there exist some problems in that a relatively high machining precision is required to form a through hole along the radial direction of the pedal arm 2 and further the assembly work of the pedal pad 1 to the pedal arm 2 is not easy. In more detail, in case the hole through which the pin 4 is passed is formed being offset from the axial center (i.e. diametral position) of the pedal arm 2, since a difference in wall thickness is produced on both the sides of the through hole, the strength of the pedal arm 2 is reduced. Therefore, when a great shock is applied to the pedal arm 2, the pedal arm 2 may be broken. To overcome this problem, a relatively large diameter rod material has been used for the pedal arm 2. Further, since the reverse side of the pedal pad 1 cannot be seen well from the pedal surface side, the insertion of the pin 4 into the through hole formed in the pedal arm 2 is not easy in assembly process.